Excavations at the Van Fortress, the Mound and the Old City of Van in 2012

Abstract

The capital of the Urartians, a kingdom centred at Lake Van basin be tween the ninth and the sixth centuries BC, was at the city of Van/Tushpa. The city of Van comprises a citadel rising on top of a mass of conglomerate rocks measuring 1345 m long, 200 m wide and 100 m high, and a lower city surrounding the citadel (Fig. 1). The lower city of Van in the Urartian period comprised the area known as The Mound of Van Fortress to the north of the citadel and the old city of Van to the south of the citadel. This area has been inhabited from the Early Bronze Age to the early twentieth century AD. The fortifications and foundations troughs of the citadel, building floors easily discernible on the rock-hewn platforms, open-air cult areas, rock-tombs for kings, royal annals inscribed on rock surfaces, inscribed stelae, and construc tion inscriptions all indicate an advanced and large state structure